The Nicene Age · AD 313–400 · External witness
Emperor Valentinian I
AD 321 – 375 (died of apoplexy at Brigetio) · Emperor of the West · Soldier of the tolerant hand · Pannonia → Milan → Trier
External witness
Who Emperor Valentinian I was
The blunt Pannonian officer who — the historians loved the story — had struck a pagan priest's lustral water from his sleeve as a tribune under Julian, and lost his commission for it; proclaimed emperor three years later, he gave the West a decade of hard frontiers and deliberate religious latitude, 'standing between the faiths,' Ammianus says, and troubling no man for his worship. He let the church elect Ambrose and let the temples stand; he died mid-shout, of a stroke, negotiating with barbarian envoys. Typed external per the emperor rule.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses and roman emperors.
Common questions
When did Emperor Valentinian I live?
Emperor Valentinian I is dated AD 321 – 375 (died of apoplexy at Brigetio) in the archive, which places Emperor Valentinian I in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Emperor Valentinian I?
Emperor Valentinian I is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Ammianus Marcellinus, Sozomen and Theodoret of Cyrus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Emperor Valentinian I from?
The archive associates Emperor Valentinian I with Pannonia, Milan, Trier. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Emperor Valentinian I’s contemporaries?
The archive links Emperor Valentinian I to 4 other figures, including Emperor Valens, Emperor Gratian, Emperor Valentinian II and Emperor Jovian. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Res Gestae XXX.8–9 (the soldier-emperor's obituary)
c. AD 390Church History VI.6 (the hand kept from the churches)
c. AD 445Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret III.16
c. AD 449When the priest sprinkled him with the lustral water, Valentinian struck him, saying he was defiled, not purified — for which boldness Julian dismissed him from his command; and God gave him, in exchange, the empire.Theodoret of Cyrus · III.16 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
Place
Places served
The 3 places the sources put Emperor Valentinian I, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.